Melody of a lost world
by chioNightcross
Summary: Desperation. The drive to do whatever a person can to survive. This alone is often not enough for someone to actually keep themselves alive when all hope is lost. For Grimm, its reality, being one of two beings left in her world still alive aside from monsters. Still, it was the only thing she could really do. Survive. This story has been rewritten.
1. Arc 1: The lost world

**So hi…. Um, First off I just want to say i'm sorry. It's been awhile since I've written or updated anything that I've put on this site, and I'm genuinely sorry that it has been so long. Life has been giving me a hard hand lately, and when I came back to my works, I've found I wasn't happy with a majority of what I've put into the Neptunia fandom. So yeah, here we are.**

 **To put it bluntly, I've rewritten what I've written for the most part. There isn't a lot different with some of the parts, and there is a lot different with other parts. It's been an experience trying to fight my back into writing in the first place, so I hope this is at least enjoyable as far as those who actually read this are concerned. I'm at least mostly happy with this, so I hope you all are as well.**

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 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Hyperdimension Neptunia, or any of its sequels or spin offs As such, all rights go to Idea Factory, and Compile heart for all the Cannon characters and information given within their games. Please support the official release of the source material**_

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 _Lightning flashed across the sky, the noise echoing across the ruined landscape. Echoes of the battle taking place upon its charred ground. Trees uprooted and destroyed, little more the splinters remaining. Dirt and rock, ripped from the ground in a way that left large craters upon the ground, and fires raging upon plant life, refusing to be put out no matter what. It was like an apocalypse had ravaged the land, destroying anything that was in the way of its war path, and even more that wasn't._

 _The desolation, caused by one being, a woman, whom four others were fighting against. From a distance it could only be seen that all but 1 of the figures were wearing cloaks, but it was 4 on 1 with one of the cloak wearers being the one the other four fought. Despite the uneven numbering, however, the person fighting alone was winning, if the fact that the one not cloaked was suddenly, and violently, sent flying, a spear being held in the hand of the attacker. The force of the blow sent the only non-cloaked being, a woman based solely on shape, into the ground. Dirt, rock, and gravel were sent in every direction due to the force, before she came to a stop several meters away from the fighting._

 _A flash of bright light quickly caused the woman to shrink, being replaced with a girl no older than 15. Shaggy red hair clung to her scalp, and skin due to the grime and sweat that covered her. A simple pair of shorts, a grey T-shirt, and a pair of sneakers, gun-metal grey in color was what she had, all torn and damaged with the fighting, and now covered in dirt. The pain from said attack was obvious, her whole body wrecked with spasming muscles, but she held consciousness if only to try and move, one bright green eye open, the other closed_

" _Grimm!" One of the figures, a woman as well by her tone, spoke with concern in her voice. With a single touch, and a curse, said woman shook her head at the other two that were on her side. "Damn it, she doesn't look like she's registering us at the moment."_

 _Snapping her fingers in front of Grimm did nothing, as the girls eyes started to lose what little focus there was. It didn't take even a minute after that for eyes to roll backwards and unconsciousness to set it, a panicked noise leaving the one checking her. A hand grabbed the girls shoulder, shaking her, trying to wake her up, something to get her back up, but nothing worked. The cloaked woman barely had enough time to look behind her, seeing the one they were fighting, almost to her. A flash of steel, the splash of red flew through the air, the tip of a spear gleaming in the light._

"NO!" Grimm's voice range through her room, her eyes wide with fear and shock, her breathing short and uneven, due to the nightmare she experienced. The shock lasted only a second more, before she realized where she was. Replacing the shock, was a sort of tired acceptance, even as she clenched her hands into the dirty blanket she was using.

Looking around the room did little to help her mood considering the fact that it was a ruined mess. One of the walls had so many cracks in it that she was surprised it was even standing still. The windows were in even worse shape if anyone bothered to look at them. Jagged shards clung to the frame, doing their best to stay, but long since having been shattered.

Letting one more tired sigh leave her, the girl rubbed at her eyes. The exhausted expression didn't disappear, but she was at least a little more awake now than she was before. Grabbing the grey newsboy cap next to her, she dusted it off, before planting it onto her head. The dusty cap giving her a small sense of calm, despite the nightmare not to long ago.

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 **Melody of a forgotten world.**

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Desperation. The drive to do whatever a person can to survive. A powerful force, one that has caused many people to do things they would otherwise not. It was something many would not understand, not unless they were put into a situation where it was life or desperation to save a life, or your own. Grimm knew this feeling intimately, being one of only two beings left in the world aside from monsters. It was an unpleasant feeling, but it was something she got used to.

Despite this though, somehow Grimm still had a sliver of hope. Hope that something would change, hopefully in a way that would have her do something other then fight. But the weight of those she couldn't save still pressed down on her. It wasn't a comforting feeling, but she pressed through with the help of the Oracle that was with her. Despite the pain, and desperation of the world as it was, Rosa,, the oracle in question, managed to keep her sane.

She'd freely admit as well that said Oracle was the only reason she hadn't died yet. Whatever it was that Rosa did, she didn't know, but here she was. How they were going to survive from here though, that was a different beast altogether. Monsters kept spawning no matter how many she killed, and she could never pinpoint the location either. Ancient dragons guarded the area that she thought they spawned, in a zealot-esque fashion, and where one fell, 3 more would appear in its place.

A hopeless battle if there ever was one.

It was disheartening, knowing that her efforts whatever it was she did, had little to no effect. Her people, the one she had life because of, were gone as well. The faint wisps of faith being all that remained. A reminder, that even in death, her people still believed in her. Grimm wasn't sure how to feel about that either. It was both heartwarming, and heartbreaking, to know that her people's faith persisted even years after humanity's downfall.

Still that didn't change the fact that she ended up getting into another fight. Despite the exhaustion, she pressed forwards, her mind refusing to let her body rest. She had someone to fight to get back to after all.

The beast had tried to ambush her while she was searching through the ruins of the town, most likely thinking of her as easy prey. She was pale, and looked weak due to a lack of shares, so that was part of it, she supposed. The other part was just something about monsters going after girls more often than they ever did the other gender. It confused her more than she'd admit to anyone but Rosa, especially since monsters never took anyone alive.

Running a hand through her shaggy, grey hair, Grimm leaned to the side to dodge yet another swipe from the Fenrir that was trying to kill her. Shifting to the side once more, the girl quickly punched upwards, getting the beast in the chin. The force of the hit sent it flying backwards a bit, a yelp leaving it. Despite this though, the beast had little to show that it had taken much damage. The fact that it got up a second later only proves this fact to the redhead.

She wished she had a weapon right about now as well.

"Would you just die already?!" Grimm's tone was filled with anger, her temper getting the better of her, despite the many warnings that Rosa had given to try and hold her temper back.

Getting into a boxing stance, she managed to shift to the side just right to dodge yet another attack from the beast. Reacting fast enough, a foot collided with its stomach, sending it into the ground not too far from her. It quickly got back up, a roar just barely leaving its maw, before a foot collided with its face, sending it flying backwards into a partially broken wall. The force of the kick, surprisingly enough, was enough to send the beast through it. Shelving the surprise for the time being, the CPU raised her fists again as she heard the sound of rubble moving.

The fenrir, with a pained growl, stared straight at the girl, her green eyes narrowing in wariness in return. The two stared at each other for a few more moments, before the fenrir let out a loud howl, towards the sky, and slowly started to walk away. Confusion radiated from the redhead, her eyes boring into the creature as it left. She had fought Fenrir's before, but this was the first time one had willingly walked away from a fight like that.

Keeping an eye out in case it was a trap of some sort, the girl was both relieved, and disappointed at the fact that it was as it seemed. Despite this she continued on her way, quickly snatching up a bag from the ground in the process, and opening it with a sigh of relief. The bag contained cans of food, a good amount of them as well, and Grimm was just glad that the bag hadn't been touched. A slight grimace made its way onto her face when she saw that a few of the bags were of Canned Eggplant, but it was a relief that there were other things.

Swinging the bag onto her back quickly, the grey haired girl started the trek back home, half convinced that she was being watched as she left. This was shown with her looking around suddenly as she made her way back, green eyes narrowed at the rubble that surrounded her. Scanning the area once again, while also spotting another store's ruins, Grimm made a mental note to try and come back this way to search the store for supplies.

It was about a minute after Grimm had left that one of the few remaining walls was broken, a tall figure in a brown cloak colliding through it, a feminine grunt of pain coming from her. Beyond said wall was another cloaked figure, a chuckle leaving them to show that their gender was, in fact, male in this case.

"Now now~. There's no reason to be so hostile you know~!" The male spoke, his tittering voice causing the woman to tense up, even as she slowly got up, the impact to the wall not dealing any significant damage "All I want is entertainment you must know~. I could even help you if you wished~!"

A growl of frustration left the cloaked woman, a pale hand leaving the cloak with a finger pointed towards the male "I know your type. You'll help if I ask alright, but you'll also bring something to the world you send me that'll probably destroy it in the process!"

"Ah ah ah, that's not how the game works you know~." The male spoke up once more with an amused giggle of a sort "But of course, who ever said you had a choice in the matter~?"

The cloaked woman seemed to panic at those words long enough, to try and grab a weapon from her inventory, but before she could the Male swept his hand to the side, the gloved digits seemingly having a light coming from them, before a flash of light engulfed the woman, a single strand of red hair floating down to the ground in the aftermath.

Giving a giggle at the sight, the cloaked figure started to walk in the direction that Grimm had gone "Oh my, what fun will I have when they both arrive~? Oh I can't wait~!"

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 **Melody of a forgotten world**

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Getting back to the basilicom was a lot easier than leaving and trying to find things. Considering how large it was, and the fact that it was a tower, it wasn't a surprise, but even still Grimm would admit she was exhausted. Whether it was just because of the work, the lack of shares, or even just with this whole situation, she was tired. Still, she kept going as Rosa still needed her, and she wasn't going to abandon the person who practically raised her. They only had each other after all.

Grimm and Rosa both agreed to use the Basilicom as their base of operations for multiple reasons really. Some of those reasons were null and void, but others were still useful. One example was how the building was almost like a maze. It was originally built like that to make it harder for enemy forces to navigate in the event of an invasion, but now, it was good for keeping monsters from finding them. Another was that, while lacking a fair amount of power, some of the defenses were still active. That was a blessing since Rosa couldn't fight, and with monsters constantly around, it was needed.

She just wished that someone would have made it besides just them.

Forcing her eyes shut, the CPU quickly forced those thoughts down, and trudged onward, her need to get the food to the Oracle more pressing than getting lost in thought. Shifting the bag a bit more on her back, Grimm's eyes gazed over towards the sunset, a few trees covering it just enough to leave a part of the sun covered. The sight was one that still surprised her, considering the fact that nature as a whole had largely been untouched when it came to the destruction of the world and its people.

Letting out a slight smile at the fact that something so beautiful was still possible in this world. She was certain that Rosa would try and get her to keep her priorities straight considering she had food on her, but she couldn't help it really. Art in any form was something that she had a passion for, and it was something she would never take for granted. A sight like this was part of the reason she was so interested in art in the first place. That, and for finding nice places to sleep.

Don't tell Rosa that last part though.

Taking her mind off of the sight in front of her for the time being, Grimm continued her mind heading towards the hope that Rosa wasn't trying to cook again. The Tome was smarter than any living being had any right to be, but she was a terrible cook. It baffled the CPU that someone so smart could screw up something that, to her, was so simple, but it happened. The tome had actually managed to Burn water, something that Grimm thought was impossible.

Ignoring that thought for the time being, Grimm continued forward with her mind focused. Actually focusing leads to her getting up the stairs faster than she realized, and almost right away she smelt the air. The smell of something burning caused a disgusted look to appear on the CPU's face, even as she ran towards the kitchen. Her fears were warranted evidently, something that she was trying to give the Tome the benefit of the doubt, but it seems it was for naught.

She just hoped that Rosa would be fine when she declined the food.

Quickening her pace to the point of practically running, the CPU burst through the door and nearly jumped at the stove to shut it off. When she heard the click of the stove top turning off, a sigh of relief left her, before it quickly turned to disgust again. The pot that the 'food' was in was blackened and charred. The metal twisted and melted slightly to the point that it wasn't going to be usable again. In short, it was pretty much exactly what she had expected.

"Grimm! Thank the goddess your back! I was starting to get worried you know? Still, did you have to shut down my cooking so fast? I was sure I had it this time!" A slightly high pitched voice spoke up, causing Grimm to look towards the owner

Rosa, the owner of the voice, was pouting at the moment, really only causing herself to look even more cute considering the fact that she was barely 2 feet tall, and floating on a book for that matter. She had dark blue hair as well, the same color her eyes were for that matter, with slightly pale skin. She would have looked adorable all around, if not for the fact that she, not only didn't have anything but a brown robe of a sort on, as well as a bunch of dirt on her.

A stray thought left Grimm at the fact that neither of them had any way of hygiene for years, before snapping back into place, her voice taking a tired drone to it "I'd rather we didn't have our place to sleep go down in fireball Rosa. I know I've asked you to leave cooking to me before..."

The Oracle, instead of flinching back, or getting angry, instead only puffed up her cheeks even more towards the rough spoken girl "Well I still have a right to learn how to cook!"

"I've offered to teach you how to cook a bunch of times before you know." Was the tired response that Grimm gave, her eyes seeming to close slightly in tiredness "Not like i'll laugh at you not knowing how..."

Rosa's expression took an exasperated edge, her voice being a bit dry as she spoke "You only offered so you wouldn't have to do as much. Still, I wish that I could do more to help, with you scavenging every day for food."

"Hey, who's the one who's been keeping me from dying again?" Grimm spoke her voice having an edge to it that sounded exasperated now "It's thanks to you that I even have the energy to fight in the first place you know..."

A giggle left the Oracle at the girl's response, the fairy seeming to be ready to say something, only to cut herself off as both she, and Grimm, tensed up. Rosa quickly flew behind the CPU due to the fact that she couldn't protect herself, while Grimm, in turn, quickly got into a boxing stance. The two stayed as they were, but only tensed more when a laugh echoed through the area, causing the two to try and figure out where it was coming from.

"Oh! So you two sensed me did you? That just makes this more interesting!" The voice, carrying a tone that was neither male nor female said with jubilation "Yes, oh yes! This will be far more interesting than I had ever given credit!"

A growl left Grimm at the tone the being gave, her normally tired look replaced in an instance due to the threat "Why don't you come out here and face me, if you find us so interesting as you put it."

"Tsk tsk, that's not how the game works." The voice spoke, actually saying 'Tsk' instead of making the noise as well, "You see, I'm going to give both of you a chance to make something of your life instead of just leaving you to rot in a dead world! Oh, but you Goddess need put do one thing! **Entertain me.** "

A shiver went down Grimm's spine at the fact the being knew that she was a goddess, as well as the tone. Before she could react or say anything, however, the being disappeared. The second it did, the sound of glass breaking reached both her ears, causing her to turn towards the windows, seeing the shattered pieces flying outside the window, straight towards what looked like a tornado coming straight towards them. Letting out a quick "I'm sorry" To Rosa, before, she shut the Oracle inside of her book, ignoring the indignant sound.

Grimm had just enough time to look out the windows of the 'kitchen' to see the Tornado had gotten much closer. She let out a resigned sigh, even as she hoped that, at the very least, Rosa would survive.

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 **Melody of a lost world.**

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Desserts were always considered to be things that, under most circumstances, even the most brave, and prepared, would never venture into. It was for this reason that most people would have been extremely surprised when a head of red hair popped out of the sand with a loud gasp, quickly followed by loud coughing, the girl that popped out of the sand clutching at a book like her life depended on it. Eventually the girl shook the sand off of her, pulling a newsboy cap out of the sand, and shaking any off of it as well, quickly putting it on her head.

Taking a look around, Grimm could tell right away that wherever she was, there wasn't any civilization, ruin or otherwise, anywhere nearby. It was also at this point that the goddess was glad that she hadn't taken her backpack off, so there were at least some provisions. A second later, however, she quickly searched through the backpack to grab Rosa's tome, opening it, already mid wince at the expected yelling. What she got instead was a hug. Her shoulder started to be a bit wet due to the fact the fairy started to cry.

The shock from the hug was enough to leave the girl frozen for a second, before she hugged the fairy back with tears in her eyes as well. The silent tears ran down both of their faces despite not knowing where exactly they were, the emotions of actually surviving was enough to make the two cry as a result. Grimm wasn't sure how long the two ended up staying there just holding each other as reassurance that they were still there, but when they separated Grimm's eyes immediately scanned the area around them.

As was obvious from all of the sand, the two were in a desert, but the fact was they had no idea exactly where they were aside from that. She continued to search for something, anything that she could see around them, with nothing to show for it, she sighed and turned to the Oracle, who was looking around as well. The goddess knew that Rosa had better eyes, and that was part of the reason that she wasn't worried when the fairy looked like she spotted something in the distance.

"See anything...?" Grimm asked after a second of the fairy just staring off into space, getting her to jump slightly in the process.

Rosa looked like she wanted to yell something at the girl in response to the slight scare, but instead she just nodded "It looks like a bunch of buildings made out of sand. I do not know what else that could mean, but at the very least it is shelter from the elements."

Getting a nod in response, the redhead made her way to her feet, the sand causing her to stumble slightly, but otherwise nothing to worry about. With a destination in sight, however, the two started to make their way towards the buildings that Rosa saw. Grimm did see them after a good hundred feet, but that still didn't mean that she wasn't going to worry about them being a mirage. The words of the man that had sent them here in the first place still rang in her ears, though, and that's where her thoughts laid.

She wasn't completely sure what the man meant by a new life, but the 'Entertain me' part was obvious enough. A part of the CPU wanted to find the asshole and beat the shit out of him, but now wasn't the time to be entertaining such thoughts. Finding a place to survive was more important for the time being. She would find one eventually, that was for certain, but when was going to be the hard part. Surviving another day was probably the priority at the moment.

What felt like an hour had passed for the two as they continued to trudge onward towards the buildings, the objects getting bigger the closer they got, reassuring them that it wasn't a mirage. The only other problem though was the fact that they were certain they felt someone watching them. That shouldn't be possible since Grimm had searched for a long long time to try and find someone still alive, but each search ended in failure. The girl really just hoped that it wasn't a monster that she had seen.

Snapping her gaze up in a split second Grimm grabbed Rosa, who squealed in surprise, and dived to the side just as a loud crack went off, and the sand where they were standing a second before exploded, showing them in grains of sand. Narrowing her green eyes up towards the building she saw the glint of light reflecting off of something, before a voice spoke up "Hold strangers!"

Grimm tensed up quickly as the sound around them shifted revealing several people surrounding the two, guns pointed at them. Even as this happened another person, this one a woman wearing sand colored Camouflage clothing, started to walk towards them. The only thing on her person was a pistol that was attached to her hip, barely visible under the sand colored cloak she wore, but Grimm knew right away that she was probably the most dangerous person here at the moment. Everything about the woman was hidden, except for her eyes, something that led a shiver to travel down Grimm's spine.

The woman looked towards the two, red eyes blazing with something that Grimm wasn't sure off, before her eyes landed on Rosa and they widened slightly that most wouldn't notice. Taking her eyes off the Oracle, the woman spoke "Now, what could a little girl like you be doing with a Tome? Especially since Planeptune was the only one to have ever been known to have a Tome?"

Grimm tensed up even more at being called a little girl, but Rosa sent her a significant look, before turning towards the woman, "You have us at gunpoint with a sniper pointed at us as of this moment. I would assume that the first shot was a warning as the bullets would have hit the sand below us and not us directly. It would seem that we would have no choice but to answer anyway, correct?"

"I'm not surprised that a Tome figured out all the details so quickly." The woman spoke with an even tone, before speaking once again "But that still does not answer the question that I had just given. Why do you approach the place the Banished call home?"

Rosa's brow furrowed at the word, but for the time being she decided to ignore it, instead saying "We had little choice in the matter, I assure you. Even we do not know exactly all that led to us being here. The reason we came here however is due to the fact that it seems to be the only shelter within hundreds of miles. To put it simply, we are lost, and we have no idea where to go."

"I've never known anyone that would willingly go into the Forgotten lands, so you may be telling the truth Tome, but that does not explain the girl with you." The woman spoke with a hard tone, red eyes looking towards Noel with suspicion, and something else "How does she fit into this picture."

Looking towards the small goddess, Rosa silently asked her what to do. Scanning the area around them one more time, seeing all of the people pointing guns at them, a sigh left the grey haired girl. It wasn't what she wanted, but she knew that she was going to have to. A nod left her after a second, and the Tome turned back once again to the woman who seemed to be in charge.

"The 'girl' with me, as you put it, is not simply a little girl." Rosa spoke with a soft tone that carried weight "Whether you believe me or not right away, the facts remain. Grimm, the girl as you call her, is a goddess, one without a nation to defend, or people to protect."

A pressure seemed to fall upon the people around them for a second as the words reached their brains. Seconds passed before what sounded like hundreds of clicking noises sounded out, every single gun being pointed straight towards Grimm, who's eyes widened in shock, surprise, and fear. The Woman's eyes narrowed slightly, but instead of taking her own pistol out, the woman spoke "Hold your Fire!"

Walking a bit closer, the woman's red eyes gleamed with something that Grimm wasn't sure about, Confusion, and hope being prominent, even as she stood in front of Grimm. Looking her up and down, the woman spoke up, even as another click sounded out "Where the hell did you come from, because there's no way in hell a CPU would have been born from this unholy wreck of a nation."

 **Chirper event detected! ?:**

The impact with the tree was what woke her up. She could still feel the Chips of wood as she crashed into it sticking into the back of her cloak But despite that, she could feel the hostility aimed at her, so she ended up having to dodge to the side, even as something exploded next to her. Looking up towards what caused it led to her finding some sort of mechanical monster standing in front of her. It looked almost like a suit of armor if she was honest.

This time she managed to reach into her inventory before anything happened, a scythe appearing in her hands a second later. Spinning the glade in her hands once, she swung quickly, slicing into the monster, and appearing on the other side of it. The monster exploded a second later, causing her to let out a snort of disappointment "Must have been a low level."

Cracking her neck the cloaked woman started to walk through the forest, no real destination in mind if she was honest, but a goal in her mind still.

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 **And here we are with the end of Chapter 1 for of the rewrite. Well, I hope this goes well all things considered, but I guess we'll see after I post this. Please review if you would, it lets me know what I can do better.**


	2. Arc 1: Touching base

**Well here we are with the second chapter of the Rewrite. I guess instead of posting each of these individually while spaced out, I'm just going to post the rewrites, and then a new chapter as well just so I can get this backup to speed. Next thing I'm going to be working on, however, is going to be 'Awakening of a Rose' So yeah. Either way, I hope you all enjoy this chapter.**

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 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Hyperdimension Neptunia, or any of its sequels or spin offs As such, all rights go to Idea Factory, and Compile heart for all the Cannon characters and information given within their games. Please support the official release of the source material**_

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" _Where the hell did you come from, because there's no way in hell a CPU would have been born from this unholy wreck of a nation."_

Those words were enough for Grimm's eyes to widen. The words bounced around her head more than a few times, as the statement was registered. Eventually, what sounded like an exhausted breath left the CPU, her hands falling to her sides. Taking a step forward, the Goddess took note of the guns pointed at her, but she ignored them as she stood in front of the red eyed woman.

"Unholy wreck of a nation?" She asked, with all of the exhaustion in her gaze showing that she was more than familiar with that statement "I'm guessing there's a story there, but I won't ask. Not like I don't have one either."

The red eyed woman's expression, though hidden, was obvious by the glint in her eyes Grimm saw. It was a look of understanding, and pity, almost, something that caused her to sigh as well, a hand reaching up towards her hood. Blue hair was the first thing that the shorter woman took note of, but the dirty, and tired expression was more than familiar.

"So, a broken CPU, finds a Broken nation it would seem." She said with an even tone, "I'm not sure what your hoping for with this nation at this point, but Pyros has been dying for years. It'd be best for you to try and leave, to live out whatever days you have left in peace."

"Maybe, but I'm still a CPU, at heart I want to help people." Grimm spoke with an even tone, a rueful smile on her face "You can probably tell me it's a wasted effort, but I'd rather die helping people, then waste away doing nothing.

A scoff left the blue haired woman as she stared Noel down, her expression filled with dark amusement "Yeah, i'd say your nuts, but whatever. You're welcome to stay here as long as you'd like, but other's likely won't agree with me."

Raising a hand with a finger pointing and waving it in a circle, all of the guns that were being aimed at Noel were lowered, though even then the girl could feel the people glaring at her with contempt. The CPU couldn't honestly say the last time that she had felt that level of anger, and it was never directed at her either. Thinking more on it, her thoughts went towards what she remembered being the last time she had seen someone alive long enough, before quickly shaking her head. She didn't want to relive those memories if she could help it.

With the people around her clearing out for the time being, Noel took another look towards the red eyed woman who was walking towards her town. Just from seeing the command she had over the other people, it was obvious that she was in charge. That was a thought both relieved Grimm. The people here at least had someone competent to watch over them for the time she was alive.

"That could have gone much better I suppose." Rosa spoke breaking Grimm out of her thoughts the tome letting out a sigh in the process "But you're alive and that's all that matters."

Giving a snort, the girl looked towards Rosa with a raised eyebrow a tired smile on her face "All that matters huh? Suppose so since I'm definitely happy to be alive as well, though how well is the question huh?"

"Oh shut up you!" Rosa said in response, a quick laugh leaving the both of them, even as a smile set itself up the fairy's lips.

Still, despite the fact that Rosa was able to keep them from firing at them, it didn't change the fact that everyone in the town was going to be looking at her with looks of either fear or anger. It wasn't something she liked, but she couldn't change that. Not unless the people wanted that to change, and honestly just from the red eyed woman's first words, that was unlikely. But she had nowhere else to go, the last bit of her share energy being all that was left for her to be awake. It was enough to go into her other form one last time as well, but if she did, it would be within a month that she would fall asleep with no faith in her.

Letting a bitter smile appear on her face, Grimm turned towards her only friend in the place perpetually tired, look returning once again "Guess we better get started on trying to help these people huh? Not doing' anything standing here after all..."

A pensive look appeared on the Tome's face at that, but she withheld her words for the time being as she followed the grey haired Goddess into the desert town. Almost right away the two could tell that the condition of living in the town wasn't all that good. While people didn't seem to be going hungry, there did seem to be a weapon on everyone one way or another. A man with a sword and shield even walked by his gaze barely even glancing at the two as he went somewhere she didn't know.

Letting a soft yelp leave her mouth, Grimm felt a rock collide with her head, and turning towards the source she found a small kid that looked to be barely 5 years old glaring at her. A frightened look quickly appeared on the kids face when they realized that Grimm was looking their way, but instead of running away, the kid grabbed another rock and threw it at her again "Go away! You're one of those people who made us live here, so you have to be bad!"

Another wince left the CPU when she saw that more kids were starting to gather to do the same thing, brave anger starting to fill them, instead of the fear that was initially there. Instead of waiting for them to start throwing rocks at her again though, she let out a sigh, and walked away. She wasn't any faster then she was before, but she was at least out of range of the kids that were going to be throwing things at her.

Still, she ignored the looks people were sending, even while she started to walk faster, and looked at the town once again. The buildings were made out of some sort of stone, either dried clay that was constantly caked on to make it stronger, or something else. Even then, she could see the cracks of the buildings being run down, both from use, and the terrible conditions that a desert had. She could see the work of constantly trying to patch the buildings up as well, adding more to the buildings making several of them look lumpy and deformed.

A sigh sounded out near her, causing the redhead to jump a bit, finding the same woman that had 'greeted' her in front of the village, standing near her, the same covering still on her head "Nice place isn't it? Were the unwanted refuse that the previous CPU's of other nations forced into the desert. You must be suicidal to stay here.

"Have to be able to live more than another year to be suicidal" Was Grimm's dull response, getting a wide eyed look from Rosa, as well as a curious hum from the woman "You can see it, probably, like I can feel it. I'm wasting away."

A dry chuckle left the woman as she nodded, her eyes showing a sort of melancholy look to them "I see that your not stupid then. Still, why are you even here? You're running out of whatever faith you had, and you go into the hornet's nest anyway."

Grimm closed her eyes for a moment, her mind almost right away asking that same question. Why? Why did she go into the middle of a town that hates CPU's even though she knew that it would be almost like a death sentence? She wouldn't be getting through the night before someone tried to stab her in the back, or cut her throat when she was asleep, and she knew it. So why did she try instead of looking for a different town or something to keep her alive longer? She already knew the answer to that, and even if she didn't like it, it was her answer.

"Because I've got nothin' else for me anymore." The red eyed CPU spoke, ignoring the pained noise that Rosa let out.

Grimm knew that Rosa had come to the same conclusion the second they started to move towards the town. The little things here and there were what gave it away. The tiredness, even more than she normally had among other things. She was out of hope that she could ever do anything to help anyone anymore the second the last human in her world died. Now though, she finally was around humans again, and her heart was fighting against her brain. Her heart had won, just long enough for her to ignore the consequences, and do what she could with her remaining time to help this town.

Continuing on from her last words, Grimm looked at the red eyed woman's confused glance "I've nothing left of me to hold on and live. So, if I'm set to die in a year, what's it matter how I go about it? Figure I'll just do what I failed to do before while i'm at it."

It took a few seconds of silence, before the red eyed woman let out a loud laugh, causing several people to look at her on the sides of the streets with surprise. Grimm had to admit that she was surprised as well if she was honest, but that did little to prepare her for the woman's next words "You're a nutcase you know that? CPU's never did anything for us and we want nothing to do with them, yet you're still willing to help us. Fine then I suppose. You wanna help so bad then go ahead. But don't say I didn't warn you."

The woman took a few steps away from Grimm after she said that, before she looked over her shoulder one last time "Name's Commodore by the way. Figure you deserve that at least."

Speechless at what the woman had said, and basically told her, the grey-haired girl let a small smile appear on her face at the fact that she had managed to actually get the woman's respect at the very least. Something she didn't honestly think would happen, but there it was. Shaking her head to get rid of those she took a deep breath to prepare herself, before facing Rosa, seeing right away the resigned look the Tome had.

"How long?" Rosa asked, and it didn't take a genius to figure out what she meant.

Still, Noel winced at the tone that was given to her, before she responded in a simple tone "I've been feeling it for a good couple of years now, but that was only because you kept me awake. I've forced myself to stay awake for that long as well."

A sigh left Rosa, the small woman shaking her head in a saw sort of way, her tone defeated "Then I suppose that we should do what we can to help these people with what time you have left."

There wasn't a point in trying to argue about it, as both knew that they were of the same mind as far as that went. Noel knew that it was going to be tough for her, both Rosa and herself, but she was resolved to still try at the very least.

* * *

 **Melody of a lost world.**

* * *

Finding work was a lot harder for the tome then she originally thought it would be. It would seem that just being associated with a CPU was enough to make people wary of her. It didn't matter if she was considered to be something that was good no matter what. She recorded history, and did what she could to make sure that the people that lived in the world were safe and happy. That was her purpose, her objective no matter the situation, and even that, which was widely known for that matter, didn't mean a thing when she was associated with a CPU.

"Thank you for your time Sir." She spoke once more, as she excited a store once again. This was the fifth store she had went into to try and help. While she wouldn't be able to do any of the lifting, she knew that she would be able to do paperwork, and lodgers for payments easily enough. It seemed that there was more then one place to 'settle' in this desert. That, at the very least, explained how there were stores and a trade market in the first place.

Still, she couldn't hold off on letting a sigh leave her when she exited the building, the brown cloth covering her fluttering a bit as she passed by people. The curious looks she received were being ignored as something she had been used to. If she were honest, she missed the looks of wonder at seeing her. It had been many years since she had interacted with humans in any sense of the word, so it comforted her more than it made her feel awkward. Still, her worry still went to Grimm.

After hearing what the girl was saying as far as how long she had been feeling what she had? It hurt, but at the same time she knew it was only a matter of time. No matter the method that Rosa had used, she knew that it was only a matter of time. The fact that whatever being had sent them to this plane only did so for amusement worried her especially. For nothing to say about the way that he sent them here in the first place!

Losing her train of thought for the time being, the book fairy (though she would be very upset with anyone calling her as such) looked around to try and find a different store that she could help. If Grimm was doing her best to try and help people, then at the very least she had a duty to try the same. An Oracle's duty was to follow the Goddess they supported after all.

That thought had led to her mind thinking of the last goddess she had served before Grimm. That goddess had been a bit wacky if she was being honest, but Rosa had enjoyed her time with her. Still, she wasn't entirely certain what had happened before she had faded away.

Shaking her head and slapping her cheeks to get out of her thoughts once more, a bit of heat went to her face when she realized that she had been floating in the middle of the road. More than a few people were staring at her with a little bit of concern, barely hidden by the passive looks. It made her want to smile a bit at the worry, but her thoughts of what they were most likely doing to Noel shot that down almost right away.

Turning herself to start on her way to yet another store, Rosa ended up finding herself stopping once more as she found herself face to face with Commodore. The resulting shriek caused more than a few people to jump in surprise, though they quickly left it alone when they heard the red eyed woman's laughter. That was more than enough to infer that Commodore did things like this often.

Letting out a frustrated noise at the woman, Rosa patted her robe down a bit, even as she sent a scathing (to her at least) glare at the woman "For what possible reason did you have to do that?!"

"Don't lose your head over it, just having a bit of fun with you as all." Commodore snickered, mirth shining in her eyes even with everything else covered "You should live a little."

A sigh left the Oracle even as she let up on her glaring "I've lived plenty as far as i'm concerned, and even should the worst happen, I will still be here."

"Well, that was a mood killer." The red eyed woman spoke, her tone going to that of a grumble, before she perked back up "Ah, but while I get ya, that doesn't mean you shouldn't have some fun you know? Met some uptight people in one of the other places, but that doesn't mean they were stiff the whole time!"

Part of Rosa couldn't help but gap a bit at the personality difference that she was seeing between the woman in front of her, and the woman that had held Grimm at gunpoint earlier. Shaking the shock of, the tome tilted her head slightly "Why are you buggy me? I believe it was you who said that my, er, CPU was suicidal."

"I did." She admitted with no shame "But, at the same time I was surprised by the resolve that girl gave even if it was a bit foolish."

"Nothing a Goddess does is ever foolish if it means that it helps people in the process." Rosa's eyes narrowed even as her tone went flat "I don't care what you, or the people here say, but Grimm has lost so much, and as such I know that she isn't doing this just for her own survival."

A snort caught her attention, causing the blue haired tome to look as a man that had stopped in the street started to speak "Bullshit. That's all a CPU will ever do. What's a few of their people if it means they survive?"

Letting a growl loose at the man, Rosa was about to open her mouth once again, but Commodore beat her to hit "Shut your trap and leave. I don't give a shit what mud you sling a CPU's way, but you _don't_ talk that way to a Tome."

The surprise on Rosa felt at that comment, was completely overshadowed a second later when Commodore pulled out a gun, and pointed it at the man when he seemed to want to say something else. She could see the man's face take several different shades, between fear and anger, before he eventually just walked away. The was only put away once the man was out of sight.

"Damn that man to the pit." Commodore grumbled out, only just barely being heard by the book fairy.

Clearing her throat a bit, the Tome let out a nervous sigh of relief "I-I suppose I should thank you. T-though is this a common occurrence?"

"More than you'd think." The woman spoke, her tone more serious once more "It's the reason I was tailing you and that girl. Also why I showed up on your path a lot. I was trying to deter idiots like him."

A sigh of disappointment left the Oracle "So it seems that even in a new place, there are always people who wish to cause trouble."

"Ain't that the truth." Commodore grumbled, her eyes trailing to the side long enough for her to spot someone ducking behind a wall. Smiling a bit at the sight, the red eyed woman tilted her head towards said wall "Looks like you got a follower on your tail."

Looking in the direction that Commodore was tilting her head, Rosa saw the same small head, a smile making its way onto her face. Floating down a bit and trying to get closer to the height of the girl she was going towards. She ended up a bit worried that the girl was going to run away when she started to get closer, but she was relieved when the girl didn't. She was, however, surprised when she saw several kids were behind said girl.

Well, this would take awhile.

* * *

 **Melody of a lost world.**

* * *

Walking out of yet another building after she tried to offer help to the people inside of it, Grimm let out an aggravated sigh at the fact that people were refusing her left and right. She couldn't blame them, but the fact that she was offering and they don't even think about it was still aggravating. Still, she couldn't really get mad at them either. Just from walking around the town, she could tell that everyone was already wary of her, and her offers of help were not doing her any favors.

Getting her mind off of that for the time being, her red eyes trailed over the buildings once more, hoping that Rosa was having more luck then she was at the moment. Considering how these people were looking at the Tome though, she wouldn't hold her breath. They didn't look Rosa with the same contempt, but they were still wary of her since the only other Tome was the oracle of some place called Planeptune. She still wasn't sure if that was just the city's name or if it was the actual land either, and no one was helping her as far as figuring that out was concerned either.

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, the girl started to walk through the streets once again, ignoring the looks she was getting, as she started to look for yet another place to try and help. No matter how she searched, however, she couldn't seem to find a place that she hadn't tried to help already, and that eventually led her to the small park that they had. If you could even call it that.

The 'Park' in question was just a small sandy area that had dirts and a few structures for kids to play inside of. The big problem that she could see, however, was the fact that the kids weren't playing so much as just staring at her from across the small dune that was near the 'Bench' she was sitting on. In reality it was just a piece of stone put in the place for parents to sit at and watch their children. One of several really.

Letting a sigh once more leave her, the redheaded girl looked towards the sky, seeing a few clouds here and there, but nothing that could really cover the sun as it bore down on the people that were outside. Unsurprisingly Noel could already feel the start of a sunburn on her exposed skin, and considering she was wearing shorts, and a tank top, meant that a lot of skin was going to end up that way.

Despite everything though, Grimm could feel hope for these people if only because the amount of children she was seeing at the park was more then she had expected if she was honest. Every single one of them was still looking at her, curiosity mixed with wariness in their eyes, but she could still see the innocence in their gaze. Children that were still children despite the harsh circumstances of their lives.

The sound of something shifting caused Noel's gaze to shift towards a child that was making their way towards her. The child in question stopped when she noticed the redhead's gaze, her expression taking on a fearful look for a second, before she continued to creep, ever so slowly, towards her. Eventually the child in question was standing right in front of her, and still Noel did nothing but look towards her.

A choking like sound left the child as their mouth opened, before closing quickly. A soft smile appeared on the CPU's face to try and encourage the child, eventually leading her to start to talk "A-a-are you r-r-really a-a c-c-cpu?"

"I… Yeah, i'm one…" Grimm eventually said after what must have been half a minute of silence, her tired tone causing a yawn to leave the girl "Did you want to ask me something…?

"Y-yes…" The girl spoke once more, her tone showing her bewilderment at the yawn, before gaining her confidence back, growing desperate "W-why did the o-other CPU's send us here?! I-It's not fair…! I-i've seen the g-green g-grass they have…! W-why can't w-we be t-there t-too?!"

The desperation in the girl's tone showed that she truly couldn't understand why they were living in a place that was just a desert and nothing else. The pure desperation that the girl had almost seemed to mirror how Desperate that Grimm had been when she found out that they had died. That fact alone was enough for her to send a soft look towards the girl that was desperate to just know _why_. Why would someone be so malicious to send them to a place that made even the simplest of things a trial?

A part of her wanted to try and tell the girl something that was innocent enough so that she wouldn't have to worry so much. To tell her words that would at the very least, keep her from having to know the harsh reality that everyone knew, but she couldn't do it. The sheer pain that the girl had in her tone showed that she wouldn't accept anything like that, so she didn't.

"I don't know. Nothing excuses the fact that A CPU is supposed to help people." Grimm spoke softly, a sigh leaving her, the sad look on the girl's face causing a pained feeling to bloom in her chest "I don't know why the goddesses that did this, did it, but I promise you. I'll do what I can to help everyone in this town..."

A humming sound sounded out from near the two,causing Grimm to lift her head and see Rosa, whom from the Oracle's expression, had been there for a bit. That, and the few kids that were hovering around her, curious expressions on their faces. Those expressions quickly changed though as soon as Grimm opened her mouth, the words of a song leaving her as soon as it did.

 _Loo-li, loo-li, loo-li, lai-lay_

 _Loo-li, loo-li, loo-li lai-lay_

Almost right away the children that were around them gained more peaceful expressions, even the girl that had been crying after asking Grimm her question. A soft smile grew onto the perpetually tired CPU's face as she saw the peacefulness, even as she went to sing the next verse.

 _Lay down your head and I'll sing you a lullaby_

 _Back to the years of loo-li lai-lay_

 _And I'll sing you to sleep and I'll sing you tomorrow_

 _Bless you with love for the road that you go_

Putting a hand on the head of the girl near her, Grimm gave a tired smile towards the girl, even as she saw said girl looking towards her with what had to be a sleepy expression.

 _May you sail far to the far fields of fortune_

 _With diamonds and pearls at your head and your feet_

 _And may you need never to banish misfortune_

 _May you find kindness in all that you meet_

Looking up a bit father, Grimm would see several adults had come running into the 'Park' at some point. Most likely to try and get the children away from the 'CPU' but now that they were within hearing range of the song, it seemed to have calmed them as well. Several of them still had conflicted expressions on their faces at the sight though. Despite this, however, they did nothing to stop Grimm from giving the children some measure of peace.

 _May you bring love and may you bring happiness_

 _Be loved in return to the end of your days_

 _Now fall off to sleep, I'm not meaning to keep you_

 _I'll just sit for a while and sing loo-li, lai-lay_

Grimm let her eyes close for a second, even as she sang the next verse, her voice cracking slightly due to the emotions this particular song brought. But for once in her life, she could feel herself being at peace where she was. There was no illusion that she would be accepted by people after seeing this, and she was fine with that. She just didn't want the children she was around to end up more upset then they already were.

 _May there always be angels to watch over you_

 _To guide you each step of the way_

 _To guard you and keep you safe from all harm_

 _Loo-li, loo-li, lai-lay, loo-li, loo-li, lai-lay_

 _Loo-li, loo-li, loo-li, lai-lay_

 _Loo-li, loo-li, loo-li lai-lay_

 _Loo-li, loo-li, loo-li lai-lay_

 _Loo-li, loo-li, loo-li lai-lay_

 _Loo-li, lai-lay_

By the time she ended the last syllable of the song, Grimm could tell that she had a crowd around her. That did little to stop her surprise though when she saw what had to have been the entire population surrounding her. She could even see Commodore leaning against a building not that far from the 'Park' while still not being a part of the crowd of people. Her head wasn't covered, a soft smile on her face as she watched from a bit away. She gave a two fingered wave as well.

Deciding to turn her attention back towards the girl she had talked to once more, Noel slid off of the stone bench, getting level with her "Like I said before, i'm not sure what why they did it, but i'm going to help you and everyone here as best I can."

A snort gained the redhead's attention quickly, causing her to slowly stand up, even as she turned towards the source. Tilting her head up a bit more due to the height of the man that was standing across from her, the CPU being a good 2 feet or so shorter then this guy. Almost right away when he was certain he had her attention, the man crossed his arms, his voice growing loud "We don't need no stinkin' help from a CPU of all things! You're just trying to use us so you won't die due to not having anyone worshiping you!"

Giving the man an unimpressed look, the CPU made sure that the girl was still behind her in the case of a fight breaking out, before addressing him "Look, I don't care what your opinion of me is, and honestly, your entitled to think whatever, but that doesn't mean your right either."

"Grimm." Rosa spoke up, her silence finally ending, causing everyone in the crowd to turn towards her, several people, those that hadn't noticed her until now, looking at her with wide eyes. The Tome gave the man a reproachful look even as she spoke her next words "If you would prefer, I can escort these children home so that you may discuss things without interruption."

Letting a tired sigh leave her, Grimm, a comment barely on her lips, before a siren went off, causing everyone in the area to panic. The sound of an intercom system echoed through the town right alongside the siren, a voice sounding out "Attention all militia members, I repeat, attention all Militia members! Scouts have reported several groups of monsters heading towards the town, prepare for battle, I repeat, prepare for battle!"

"Alright people, you heard the siren, get a move on!" One of the people in the crowd yelled out, getting everyone to start moving at least.

Feeling the tug on her pant legs however, Grimm turned towards the girl that she had stood in front of when whoever that guy was, though she did not miss that, Rosa recognized him. Putting her focus on the girl in front of her though, she gave a smile towards her "Hey, it's going to be alright. You should go along with Rosa and get somewhere safe alright? The town will be safe before you know it."

"A-a-are you going t-to f-fight t-too?" The girl asked, her tone having a bit of a pleading edge to it.

Giving a small yawn, the CPU, even as she ruffled the girls head " Course i'm going to. I said I was going to help you and everyone here. You just make sure you listen to Rosa alright?"

Giving a firm nod, and a look of determination that was honestly just adorable, the girl gave a shaky smile towards the CPU. Before Noel could stand up or do anything else, however, the girl jumped at the redhead, giving her as big a hug as her small frame could give. Grimm quickly wrapped her arms around said girl, giving a hug right back.

"I-I b-beleive y-you." The girl whispered into Grimm's ears, red eyes widening in shock at the words spoken.

Grimm didn't have enough time to ask the girl if she was sure, before she rushed off towards Rosa, not giving a single look behind her in the process. Despite that though, the warm feeling that Grimm felt in her chest was something that took her by surprise. She hadn't felt this warmth in a long time. Putting a hand to her chest, as if to try and keep the feeling, the CPU quickly shook her head and turned towards the direction that the Milita were heading, seeing Commodore standing back a bit to look at her.

"You know you're probably not going to get any thanks for helping us right?" The woman spoke, her blue hair quickly being hidden by her hood once again "If anything, that guy from before is going to use this to make it seem like you're trying to win our good graces."

Not backing down, even at the cold tone that came from the woman, the CPU gave a nod, already expecting it, before a half smirk appeared on her face "Not like it matters to me. I got a little girl to keep a promise to now. No way I'm gonna lose."

"Oh?" Came the response, Commodore giving the impression that she was smirking, "I see. Well, better not keep her waiting then huh?"

"Of course." Was the CPU's reply, her right hand turning into a fist and colliding with her other hands open palm "Monster's won't know what hit em."

* * *

 **Chiper event detected:**

 **A small Chibi version of Rosa appears: "Some shares were given to Grimm…?"**

Leading the children away towards the safe part of town was something that she honestly wished she didn't have experience in doing, but at the same time she was happy. Being around the children was giving her life the likes of which she honestly hadn't felt in years. It was both an old, and new feeling, and she couldn't help herself when she smiled, something that caused the girl that had hugged Noel to pipe up.

"M-m-mis b-book f-f-airy? W-why are y-y-you s-smiling?" The girl asked, her tone showing her innocence, but that did little to soften the blow of being called a book fairy.

Still, she managed to hide it well enough if the slightly strained smile she gave was any indication "I'm just happy to be around you children is all. It's been a very long time since I was able to help anyone you know."

"O-oh…" The girl gave out a nervous sound, even as she continued to walk, following the adult that was leading them "W-w-well, t-the C-CPU said s-she was g-going to help u-us s-s-so I b-b-believe in her."

That line alone was enough for Rosa's eyes to widen, before she smiled once more, pure joy in her features as she slowly floated down towards the girl "You're a very sweet girl you know that? And please, call me Rosa ok?"

"O-Ok." The girl nodded, her voice gaining a bit more confidence "C-call me Kane?"

The questioning tone to it was more than enough for Rosa not to question the more male like name, so she left it be. What mattered right now though was the fact that even just 1 person had faith in Noel, and that was a miracle in and of itself. She was content with how things were.

* * *

 **And there we go. Not much to say on this one either all things considered, but I do hope you will give a Review if you feel like it, just to let me know how i'm doing.**


	3. Arc 1: A helping hand

**Well, here's chapter 3 of the rewrite, and honestly, I just in general feel better about this chapter then I did with the last one. This one is where the changes start to get more obvious, and to be honest, there's a lot of little hints towards things with this one, and the next one if i'm honest, that it's getting me excited to see if anyone will follow the trail these hints are leading towards.**

 **I guess I just like where this is leading more than I did the last time I posted this, so I'm just going to have to wait and see where it leads.**

* * *

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Hyperdimension Neptunia, or any of its sequels or spin offs As such, all rights go to Idea Factory, and Compile heart for all the Cannon characters and information given within their games. Please support the official release of the source material**_

* * *

Grimm barely made it a foot after Rosa and the others left, before she had several guns pointed in her direction. Honestly, it wasn't a surprise considering the fact that the people around here didn't like her, but still. She had offered to help them with the monsters, and this is what happened right away. It left her feeling more exasperated than anything if she was honest. Considering they were all in the same direction as well meant that she would be able to dodge the bullets this time at least.

She made to say something, either to get them to drop the weapons, or at least leave the pettiness aside for the time being, but before she could Commodore's voice broke through the silence "Alright, that's enough people!"

The woman walked through the crowd of people until she was standing between the Militia and the CPU, though Grimm could tell that some people weren't too happy about her doing this. Still, she was happy enough that Commodore did this so that she wouldn't have to dodge any bullets this time, but at the same time, they really should focus on the monsters that were going to be coming soon.

Her thoughts were soon mirrored as the red eyed woman spoke with a sharp tone "Save your energy for the monsters you lot! I get that none of you want to deal with a CPU, let alone have one help you, but the monsters are more important right now! As for you, I'm keeping an eye on you." Commodore pointed a finger straight towards as Grimm she said this, before she circled the same hand in the air, signalling everyone to move forward.

A part of the CPU wanted to roll her eyes at the treatment at this point, but she knew that wouldn't be a good idea considering everything that was going on. So, instead of that, she decided to reach into her inventory, and instead pulled out a two handed hammer. The weapon had a heaviness that she still wasn't completely used to even after years of using the thing, her eyes sending a sad glance at said weapon, before following after the group of people that were going to confront the monsters. She could get lost in her thoughts later. Right now the monsters were more important.

* * *

 **Melody of a lost world**

* * *

Commodore let out a frustrated noise the second that she saw just how many monsters were on her doorstep. The amount, while still manageable compared to most due to what was in it, was still stupidly large. Sand Dogoo's made up a majority of the monsters that were headed in their direction, but she could also see a few Sandworms mixed in here and there, as well as some Fenrir. But that wasn't what she was focused on. No, it was the ancient dragon that was trailing after the group. The massive lizard was a sight that was rare in the desert like this, but it was always something that caused casualties when it was fought.

"Damn it." She muttered out, before she turned towards the group of fighters that was with her, pointedly ignoring the CPU as she did so "Alright people, I don't want any Heroics, we've got an ancient dragon in the group coming towards us!"

Almost right away the group of people in front of her started to mutter out worries and the like, something she wished that she could have stopped, but the people needed to know what they were getting into. Despite this though, She could tell that the grey haired CPU wasn't worried. A part of her hoped that it was just her not being afraid, but her thoughts constantly lead to her thinking that the CPU was arrogant about her power.

Those thoughts were almost immediately shut down when she remembered what said CPU had told her when she had last talked to the girl. The mounting confusion the woman had would have continued to grow at this, if not for the fact that the monsters were finally starting to bear down on her and the others. Pushing those thoughts to the side for the time being, the woman rolled her neck, cracking it a few times, before pulling out her pistol "Alright people! Let's do this!"

Cheers started up behind her, thought she paid them no mind. Instead, she shifted just right in her position to start sliding down the sand dune she was on. Even if no one could see it, a grin made its way onto her face on the way down.

Taking only a second to aim the pistol she had, the loud bang of the gun echoed through the area, even as it went straight through the mouth of one of the sandworms that had tried to jump at her. The monster immediately turned into chunks of data like any other monster, but the bullet continued onward into a Dogoo that was behind it. Still, a pistol was hardly a weapon for such a closer range fight, and as such, she reached behind her, into her cloak, pulling out a cutlass in the process.

She barely took a glance at the weapon, making sure it was held tightly, before she swung the weapon straight through another monster that had tried to attack her. The gun in her other hand aimed behind her without a moment's hesitation, a bullet tearing through yet another monster that was behind her. Shaking her head for a moment, the woman sent the sword in her hand into a reverse grip, and stabbed a monster to her left as well. The worm seemed to struggle for a few seconds more, before it burst into data just like all the other monsters.

A small noise of disinterest left Commodore the second she finished the small group around her, but her attention was quickly grabbed by the sound of something crashing into the ground with the force of a bomb. Shielding herself from the dust and sand that was kicked up from the hit, a bit of sweat trailed down the back of the red eyed woman's neck as the dust cleared. The force of the hit alone was apparently more than enough to create a small crater near the hammer head that had slammed into a worm. What made her nervousness increase, however, was due to the fact that it was Grimm that was holding the weapon.

The Grey haired CPU barely paid any mind towards the woman she had startled, the hammer in motion once again, a sany dogoo being sent flying with the momentum. The hammer was quickly brought down once again, this time into a fenrir, the beast not even having time to yelp before its head was caved in by the hammer. The nervous sweat she had was not going down in the slightest at the sight of the damage brought upon the monsters.

Red eyes quickly ended up meeting her own, however, as the perpetually tired CPU gave her a raised eyebrow, the weapon being set upon her shoulder. Getting a good look at it, Commodore's concern only grew as she saw that the weapon's head was nearly the size of a person's torso. The white and blue hammer was circular in shape as well, with the blue parts looking almost like buttons, even with their placement.

Getting out of her thoughts for the time being, the red eyed woman pointed at the hammer "Where the hell did you even get that thing?"

"My inventory." The CPU responded with a tired tone carrying an edge of obviousness to it "Shouldn't you be able to store your weapons in one as well?"

The confusion that the woman felt only increased at CPU's words. Blinking a few times, the outcast leader shook her head "No idea what you're talking about. Keep my weapons on me at all times."

Letting out a groan of some sort, the CPU swung her hammer once again, a dogoo being sent flying like a baseball into another enemy, before she tiredly said "This can wait until later. We have monsters to deal with."

Giving a noise of agreement that still was slightly distracted, the red eyed woman still managed to cut another worm in half while her thoughts went towards what had been said. Sure, she knew that this world was treated like how a game character would level up and get stronger, but an inventory system? How the hell would that even work?

Irrational anger started to bubble up in her chest as she realized that it was probably something that was never taught by the old CPU's. Still, she managed to tone down the anger for the time being considering the fact that she needed to concentrate. But that did little to make her anger simmer down when she had that thought nagging at the back of her mind. She seriously needed a drink after this.

It's only been a day since the CPU got here and already she was being driven up a wall…

* * *

 **Melody of a lost world.**

* * *

It never seemed to end. The horde of monsters that was heading towards them had been huge just looking at them, but being in the middle of the horde it was obvious there had been more of them then anyone could have originally guessed. Everything around them was chaotic, the people that could heal staying a bit back to heal those that ended getting injured, while the ones actually fighting kept the monsters at bay. From how everything looked ,it was obvious that this was something that they were used to.

For one man in particular, however, he was thinking this was the perfect chance to take care of a problem without anyone being the wiser.

His hatred for the CPU's in general was enough that when the so called 'leader' of those that were in the badlands let one into town he made a new goal as well. But that goal could wait, considering the CPU was the one that needed to die first. His thought process was that, since she didn't have anyone that put faith into her, she would be easy to kill. A simple bullet would be all he would need, and with all the chaos no one would be able to tell what exactly it was that killed her in the first place.

A fitting end for a CPU.

So he set out to try and find the monster in a girl's body. It didn't take him long to find her all things considered either considering how loudly she was fighting in comparison to the rest of them. The monstrous hammer she wields a blur as she constantly hits something. Whether it was the ground when she missed, or monster, or even an attack she blocked, none of it mattered. He would just need one shot in the chaos to get her wounded, and the monsters would take care of the rest.

Taking the gun he had in his hands, and hiding back a bit, his gun was pointed at the CPU, even as he made sure to be cautious of the monsters around him. Then, he waited and watched. Watched as she swung the hammer into a Dogoo that tried to sneak up on her, smashed a fenrir into the ground, or blocked a worm that jumped out of the dirt. If not for the fact that she was a CPU, he would have been impressed by the sheer strength the girl showed. But, even someone not as used to fighting as him could tell she wasn't used to the hammer.

Putting his thoughts to the side for the time being, he saw his opening, and pulled the trigger. It was almost like everything slowed down for him as the gunpowder ignited, and left a trail from where the bullet had been. The small object tearing through the air, even as the sound was muffled by the fighting going on around them. He watched with glee as the bullet tore into the side of the monster in human form. The bullet hole stained her close almost right away, even as she gasped in pain. A monster took the opportunity to jump at her, but it died almost a second later as the hammer collided with it.

Still, his job was done, and he was satisfied that she wouldn't get out of this.

* * *

 **Melody of a lost world.**

* * *

Everything had gone to hell the second the bullet hit her. Grimm wasn't sure if it was just a stray bullet that managed to hit her, or if it was someone deliberately doing it, but she was hurt, badly. If it had been a person that got hit by the bullet like she did, they would have bled out within a minute. As it was, however, the physiology of a goddess was a lot different then a human, and as such the wound was hardly fatal, by itself at least. With monsters attacking her however? That was where it got worrying.

A cry of pain left her as a Fenrir managed to get a hit on her, something that sent her skidding back a bit, the pain in her side increasing even more, causing her to let go of her hammer, holding onto the wound on her side. The growl of the wolf gearing up to attack sounded out again, causing the CPU to dive to the side, the monster crashing into the ground not too far from her hammer. She needed to get it back, no matter what.

Looking at the monster that had started to shake its head from the collision with the ground, Noel grit her teeth a bit as she saw it gear up to attack once again. Her attention quickly shifted, however, when a worm burst out of the sand to try and attack her, causing her to jump to the side, only to have to use her other arm to change direction once again as the Fenrir attacked. This left her open though when a Dogoo jumped at her, causing her to go tumbling into.

Rolling before she could get hit again, a growl left the CPU, her red eyes seeming to darken a bit in her aggravation. Letting go of her side, even as she winced, feeling the stain of red had grown, but still she raised her fists. A small intake of breath was all she was allowed as well before she snapped her eyes to the side, her left foot colliding with the same dogoo that had attacked her before. The fact that her foot went _through_ the dogoo, and it burst into goo, before data, however, showed how strong the kick had been.

Shifting to the side, her knee collided with the Fenrir's stomach, causing it to lurch up a bit due to the strength. Sending a palm straight to its side while still in the air, the wolf was sent flying into a sand dune, the only indication that could be seen that it was dead was a tiny bit of blue in the resulting dust cloud. Another wince left the girl, a bit of red trailing down her leg. Still, she suffered through it, and grabbed the worm that jumped at her once again, right out of the air, before slamming it into the ground, causing more blue data to appear from her hand.

A stillness took over Noel for a brief second as the third monster died, before she collapsed, clutching her side, heaving breaths leaving her in a shakky manner. Gripping her side once again, her teeth held together in a grimace of pain, she forced herself onto her feet, only to have to dodge to the side again as yet another Fenrir darted at her.

Trying to get up again only brought more pain to her side, causing a loud yelp of pain to leave her, something that caused the monster to turn towards her in an instant. Everything slowed down to Noel after that, whether it was because she knew she was going to die, or if it was something else, she honestly wasn't sure, but she could make out every detail. The gleam of the monster's teeth and claws as it got closer. The blood on its teeth showed that she wasn't it's first victim. And of course, the eyes of the beast, filled with a primal fury in them that all monsters had.

The part of her that was resigned to her death slowly closed her eyes in acceptance. That was, until she heard the gunshot, and the monsters dying yelp. Snapping her eyes open, the CPU looked towards the source to Find Commodore standing there, her pistol in one hand, and a Medic standing next to her if the fact that they had a white uniform on was any indication. The woman had stark white hair, and blue eyes, but her focus waned after that. The fighting taking place around them, being part of the reason, but the other being a lot more obvious.

"The hell happened to you kicking monster ass?" The woman's rude comment sounded out, even as the medic went up to the CPU.

Instead of being offended though, Noel gave a soft huff, a tired smile on her face "You have excellent timing. You know that right?"

"Buttering me up ain't going to work and you know it." Came the dry reply, though Grimm would swear that she heard a hint of a smile in her tone as well, even as she pointed the gun in a different direction, and killed yet another monster "What's the diagnosis Doc?"

The 'Doc' in this case, let out a groan of aggravation, before she said "Alright, first, I told you to stop calling me Doc! At least call me Two, since you refuse to use my whole name! Second, it's a gunshot wound. I'd say it was an accident if not for the fact that i'm fairly certain a CPU would have dodged it before it hit if it was just a stray."

"Y-you'd be the first to think so." Grimm got out as she grit her teeth in pain at Two who started to take the bullet out.

It was a testament to Grimm's pain tolerance that she didn't start screaming in pain while the medic did what she was. Still, the bullet came out of the wound with little effort, the Two holding the bullet for a second to stare at it, even as Commodore covered them. In an instant, however, her eyes snapped to the woman who was protecting them, her tone serious "This is a rifle bullet Commodore. Whoever shot this knew _exactly_ who they were shooting."

"Well, that leaves literally half the militia." The red eyed woman stated in a deadpan, her working continuing uninterrupted still "Whatever the case, get her patched up enough so that she can fight. We can't have a heavy hitter out of the fighting."

Giving a shrug, Two's had gained a green light, even as she spoke "You know, if it was anyone else I'd tell even you to fuck off, but I could care less considering."

"Feel the love, really I do." Was the CPU's response back, a rueful look when she looked at the medic "Sorry you had to waste your SP healing me instead of someone else."

Looking towards the CPU, the woman gave an even look, her voice keeping the same tone "I was more talking about who was telling me to do something then who I was healing. I'm a Medic for healing's sake."

That wasn't what Grimm was expecting if she was being honest, but she ignored it for the time being, as the uncomfortable feeling of skin knitting itself back together went through her system. It wasn't something she was used to if she was being honest. Normally shares, as minuscule as they could be, would protect a CPU from gaining any true wounds unless they were fatally injured, but considering what she had asked Rosa to do for her, it wasn't a surprise that she had been injured like she had.

Two's hand left the wound a few moments later, a satisfied nod leaving the woman "There we go for now. So long as you don't do something strenuous, you should be good until the end of the battle."

"Most of the normal monsters have been dealt with, but we can't seem to find the Ancient Dragon." Commodore spoke, her tone cold one more as she addressed the CPU "With all of the dust clouds and fighting, it's not surprising, but It's making me nervous. It's almost as if the monsters-"

Whatever she would have said to continue, was immediately cut off when the sound of a loud roar echoed through the area, alongside several screams of fear. Almost immediately Commodore let out a curse, trying to find where the scream came from, but she focused on the CPU again, however, when she heard the perpetually tired voice sound out "Overclock Engage!"

The bright light that went through the area causing the woman to put a hand up to her face before her eyes winded at the sight before her. A hint of Primal fear went through her spine when she saw bright green eyes staring right back at her, the glow not unlike someone looking out on the ocean when the sun hit the waters just right. That was before she took in the rest of the woman's figure, however.

A Black plug-suit covered her form, the bicep covered in a transparent mesh that had a motherboard pattern on it, connecting to the padded shoulders. The plug-suit material stopped just right to show off the skin of her thighs, in a similar way to boy shorts. The rest of her legs were covered, however from just above the knee down, with more of the same material, the knees padded. Her feet, however, were connected to black shoes of a sort, which had what looked like roller skate wheels on the bottom, if not for the divots on them not unlike a fan. Surprisingly there was no cleavage shown like Commodore expected, but instead a Silver Square, with a white H inlaid on it near her neck. She did note, with jealousy, however that she had grown into a solid D cup, however. Her hands were covered in the same sort of material as her bodysuit was. Around her wrists, and ankles, however, were cuffs that had broken chains connected to them, 5 links on each cuff.

Commodore barely noticed the Silver, almost metallic, hair that the woman had before said woman disappeared in a flash of movement. A second later, however, a loud roar of primal fury sounded out, causing Commodore to snap out of her thoughts and quickly look in the direction the CPU had headed. Ignoring her ingrained instincts to run, she instead ran in the same direction the transformed goddess went. She just hoped that no one freaked out too badly.

 **Melody of a lost world.**

She hadn't been in this form for many years. Her mind immediately took hold of the number '50' held it, believing it to be that many years, but her heart knew that it had been longer than that. The exact number eluded her, and yet she knew somewhere in her mind that it was there, waiting for her to remember it, just like the faces of her friends. The others that were long dead, the ones whom she held the weapons of so that she could honor their memory. But the Hammer was not her weapon of choice.

As she flew her right hand was held out, and in a flash of light, a large handle appeared in her grip, on one end, a large crescent shaped blade. The scythe's blade gleamed a bright white color in the light of the sun, seeming to blind several monsters on her way by, though the weapon was slightly dirty, and fairly simple at that. It was a nice feeling, however, to have this weapon in her hands once more.

Ignoring those thoughts for the time being, she focused her attention towards the beast that she was heading towards faster then it would likely react. Her head tilted slightly at the sight of the Ancient dragon, some injuries on it already. That wasn't what caught her attention however, as she saw the beast poised to strike someone. Grabbing her weapon with both hands, her voice rang out, even as she swung the blade "Move!"

The sharp sound of the blade splitting the air causes the beast to turn, only for said weapon to send it flying backwards, a large gash upon its torso as a result.. Landing just above the ground, the CPU looked behind her, past the blocky wings that looked almost like an 8-bit bats, towards the people she had saved "I would advise you seek safety."

A growl left one of the people, a man who was carrying a shield, the one who had protected the others, even as he said "We didn't ask for you-"

"This was not a request." The CPU spoke with a monotone voice, startling the man "I cannot protect you and those injured while also fighting an ancient dragon. You may return once those that are injured are safe, but until such a time, you must leave."

The cold logic the CPU showed was more than enough to get the man to take a step back, but the man's injured allies were more the reason he relented than anything. Giving a scoff towards her, he quickly started to move the other militia soldiers, before turning back long enough to say "Good luck."

Despite herself, she gave a small smile towards the man, before returning her attention towards the ancient dragon "I have no need for luck."

 **[OST activated: Megadimension Neptunia VII- Will be Venus]**

Positioning her scythe once again, she left her form go closer to the ground, the pain of her injury ignored in the face of this beast. The Dragon took that as a challenge it would seem, due to the loud roar it let out in response. It took a leap forward, faster than most would be able to react, but Grimm simply moved to the side. Its other fist quickly rushed towards the Goddess, however she jumped slightly, moving around the first, before letting a slash out, her blade digging deep into its arm.

"Strong." The only word that left even as shifted around the Ancient dragons attacks. Spinning her blade, a bit of light appeared on the edge of the scythe blade, even as she backed up just long enough to swing upwards "Moon's fall!"

The sound of sand being sent flying in every direction echoed across the battlefield, causing several fighters, monsters and otherwise to stop and look. The sight of an ancient dragon, two large gashes upon its torso, sent flying surprising more than a few people. The thud of it hitting the ground was more than enough for several monsters to turn tail and run, while the people around started to actually cheer for the CPU that was fighting for them. Not one noticed the sweat that was starting to go down her brow however due to the exertion however.

Shaking her head to get her head on straight, the CPU knew that She had to end this soon, or else, even injured, the dragon could kill her. Putting her right arm in front of her, and the other behind her, she started to gather her energy, even with the blade behind her.

The first hit the dragon tried to block with its arms, only for the power of the attack to knock them away. When the scythe came around for another hit, the dragon wasn't able to try and defend itself it time, but then came another slice, and another, more and more coming faster and faster. The scythe in the CPU's hands was a blue as she caused it to almost dance in her palms, more hit going towards the monster then most people would be able to count, until finally, with a glow upon the blade itself, an upwards slice was sent towards the beast, sending it flying backwards into data, as well as tearing a trench into the sand in front of her, several monsters dying from the attack in the process. She held that post for a few seconds, before, in a flash of light, the small redheaded girl collided with the sand, her energy drained.

The CPU heard some footsteps coming towards her a few minutes later, her eyes barely managing to open to see the same man with the shield walking towards her. Giving him a tired smile, the girl mumbled "I got it…"

"Guess you did huh?" He got out, his face showing a hint of relief on it, though conflicted as well "Honestly, glad your on our side."

Giving a hum that wasn't all there, the CPU's eyes drifted close, even as she managed to get out "'m tired…"

Soon enough darkness took the girl, her form lying still on the ground, the man shaking his head slightly. Getting a bit closer to the girl, he easily picked her up, and took her out of the crater. Almost right away he saw many curious eyes gathering on him, but it was the red eyed gaze of Commodore that held his attention. Straightening a bit like he wanted to salute, the man spoke in a even, practiced, tone "The Ancient Dragon is dead, and we suffered no casualties due to it this time."

"I'm to assume that the CPU in your arms is the reason for it being dead?" Commodore spoke, her tone cold, but also filled with something no one around could quite place.

Giving a stiff nod, the man continued "It looked like me and those with me were going to die due to the Dragon, before she came Barreling into the beast in her transformed state. The fight was one sided after that, with her forcing us to get to cover for our own safety."

Worried mutters sounded from the crowd that surrounded them, before their leader let out a heavy sigh "She saved you despite obviously draining herself. I'm not sure what to think about that."

"May I speak freely ma'am?" The man asked after a second, something that got a nod out of Commodore "I'm know i speak for everyone here when I say that I hate CPU's. They're the reason that were out here, and they're the reason that we have so many problems her even years after the initial banishment our Ancestors received."

The worried muttering started to gain a bit of agreement, before they stopped when he continued "But right now I don't see a CPU in my arms. Sure, she really is one, but despite our hate being sent towards her, and despite the fact that she could very well have died from doing what she did, she did it anyway. I may hate the CPU's, but I can't hate this girl."

It was with that, the man started to walk towards the town as soon as he took note of the fighting having ended. He didn't see Commodore looking at him, and even behind her coverings, the conflicted look on her face grew after the man left. Many of the people around her gaining the same look, with some outright looking ashamed.

Whatever it was that girl ended up doing by being selfless, Commodore wasn't sure if things would be the same after she woke up again. Whether it was for the better or not, remained to be seen however, but she knew something was on the horizon.

She just hoped that the storm didn't destroy her home when it hit.

* * *

 **Chirper event Detected!**

 **A Chibi version of Two appears: "Commodore, why are you so stubborn…?"**

Two's whole demeanor was still on the cold side when she had been found by Commodore not to long after the battle had ended. She wasn't sure what it was that man had done with the CPU, and honestly, she didn't really care. She was more curious about what the 'boss' wanted with her, though she tried to keep her snort of amusement down at that thought. Commodore wasn't someone that chose to lead anything after all.

"What can I do for you?" She ended up asking after a few seconds of silence between them. The resulting jump showed that the woman was lost in thought despite setting out to find her. Letting a frown on her face, Two spun her chair towards the woman with a questioning look.

It took a second for Commodore to find her words as it turned out, something that Two had expected really. Still, she had been there for Commodore for a long time, so, setting aside the clipboard she had been holding, the woman gave a small smile towards the Leader of the village. A heavy sigh left the woman as she started to speak "Am I really doing the right thing? I know that the CPU's are the reason that we are out here in the first place, but in one day a CPU showed up and did something that would have taken several of us, putting herself in critical condition in the process."

"You've done everything you needed to to make sure that all of us see tomorrow and you know it." Two spoke with an even tone, her slight smile still there though "Yes, there are more people that are still distrustful of her, and outright anger towards you, but it's the children that you need to focus on. I saw what that CPU did by singing to them, and while I can't say for certain if its good or bad, I know that a few of the children have started to put faith into her. So, the question is, what are you going to do now?"

Two could see the conflicting emotions inside of the woman sitting in front of her. Whether or not to try and kill the CPU that was starting to inspire the children, or do something that would be considered unforgivable by many of the older generation, and start to put trust into the CPU. Two knew that there was a line that had been crossed somewhere and it was finally time for Commodore to decide.

The Doctor just hoped that whatever it was that she decided, it didn't start down the road to their destruction.

* * *

 **And there we are with the rewrite of the third chapter of this story. Honestly, most of my joy came from putting this chapter back through its paces, and then immediately going into the next chapter, where things start to heat up. I'm not going to say anything else lest I give things away, but i'm excited to see what happens from here on out.**


	4. Arc 1: Brewing Trouble

**And here we are with chapter 4 at long last. So, for those of you who actually read this, i'm going to give a warning ahead of time, that chapters 1-3 have been rewritten with some things new, and some things old, but still I would recommend rereading them if you want, or else certain things will be confusing in this chapter as a result. I'm going to give a warning before starting the chapter of this as well, but I'm not going to flood this part with words.**

 **PLEASE READ THE A/N IF YOU WOULD IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOVE!**

 **Well, there we go. I gave a warning. On with the chapter yeah?**

* * *

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Hyperdimension Neptunia, or any of its sequels or spin offs As such, all rights go to Idea Factory, and Compile heart for all the Cannon characters and information given within their games. Please support the official release of the source material**_

* * *

Days had passed with nothing changing with Grimm's situation, and Rosa was more than a little worried. While Commodore was going to do everything she could to make sure that noel was safe, that did little to dissuade the Tome's worries, especially when you consider the fact that it was due to using up too much energy that the CPU had ended up in the situation she was in the first place. Still, it was due to the small amount of faith that had been placed in her by Kane that she held hope that the girl would wake up.

In the meantime, her days had been instead tried by constant work that she insisted was given to her, despite Commodore's efforts to get the book fairy to rest as well. It was a new feeling to have someone telling her to rest after so long. Years with only one person as company would do that to anyone. Still, she managed to weasel her way into doing paperwork that Commodore often got, even if the red eyed woman wouldn't admit to appreciating the help. Getting help in the first place must have been odd, not counting the fact that it was a Tome that was helping in as much that she could.

Getting herself out of her thoughts for the time being, the fairy turned her attention back towards the paperwork that she managed to get Commodore to let her do. The papers in question being Ledgers for supplies going to various places, as well as what was reported to have been in each city. Just having any work, even if it was something different from her Oracle duties in the past, was nice.

Letting out a hum of a tune that she couldn't quite place in her head, she got back to work sorting out the documents in front of her. She paused quickly, however, when she noticed something off with the records. Looking at them a bit closer, she pulled out a map that was nearby as well to let her see where the town's in question were.

The Tome's eyes started to narrow even further when she realized that the towns in question were a bit towards the border for the desert, but that wasn't the only coincidence. Every town in question also had a bit of green to them, meaning they were the ones that had food supplies, and while every town they had sent supplies too were accurate, the fact was, the towns near the border had more to them then the ledgers said they should have had.

As soon as she realized this, a knock on the door caused her head to snap up, and for her to gently shut the Ledger that she was looking at. Thinking for a second as well, the Oracle decided to put the ledger in her inventory along with the map and her notes to be safe. Making sure that what she was doing wasn't obvious, Rosa then cleared her throat and spoke "Come in."

The door opened slowly, the person opening it being a young woman with cyan hair, a nervousness to her that seemed to almost make it seem like she wasn't sure what to say. Considering how the town had been treating her, it wasn't too much of a shock all things considered, but it was still disappointing. She remembered the days that the staff of the basilicom would greet her and talk to her with smiles. The stiffness she was greeted to now was just disappointing if not annoying.

"L-Lady Oracle? I'm here to inform you that Commodore would like to talk to you." The woman spoke, her nervousness causing Rosa to smile slightly, trying to ease the woman's worries.

On the inside Rosa was suspicious. Commodore had not once asked for her through somebody else, so why was this woman here now? The Oracle truly did not wish to be suspicious, but considering the facts, it was warranted. As such the book fairy floated upwards slightly, her back straightening in the process, a sign that she was ready to move if need be that no one would see. Regarding the woman with the same smile, she spoke "Can I ask what she needed me for? I had been just about to finish what work was assigned to me."

A flash of something went through the woman's eyes at the mention of the ledgers, something Rosa caught, causing an internal sigh. It would seem that she had been right to be suspicious. This was only further confirmed when the woman said "I-I can finish for you if you wish so that you can go and meet with Commodore if you wish."

"You're forgetting something." Rosa spoke with an even tone "Commodore had asked me to do this myself. How would that reflect on an oracle if I let someone else do the work I was going to do."

The woman made a look like she was going to speak, and try and find something to make an excuse about as well, but considering the hole she had dug herself, it wasn't a surprise that she wasn't sure what to do. It was that frustration that caused the Cyan haired woman to drop all hints of subtlety and jump at the Oracle faster than anyone unprepared would be able to move. Unfortunately for the would be assassin, Rosa was more then prepared, and thus was able to move out of the way, and out the door faster then the assassin could react.

What the Fairy didn't expect, however, was for there to be several people outside of the room as well. With how fast she was going to try and get out of the room, she couldn't react fast enough to the blow that was sent her way. The hit was enough to knock her off of the book that she was sitting on, and send her into the wall behind her. Her vision went a bit blurry form the pain as well, though she did manage to still have enough sense to try and move out of the way of a sword coming towards her.

"Hold still and this will be painless for you." The voice of the one who attacked her growled out, even as his sword struck the wall next to her, trapping her between it, and another of the assassin's.

Another one of them started to raise their sword, only to stumble as what felt like an explosion echoed through the area they were in. The scream of rage that echoed through the building right after left every one of their faces pale, Rosa recognizing the voice as Commodores. Taking the chance as it was, however, she raised her hand, sent a blast of wind towards the man whose sword was stuck in the wall.

The blast of wind knocked them off balance, even as her book rushed towards her, tripping another one, even as it basically scooped her up. Ignoring the voices coming from the would be assassin's for the time being, she rushed through the hallways as fast as she could. The fact that she could move faster on her book then most people could run helped in this situation, even as she was being chased.

Swooping down when she heard the discharge of a rifle, Rosa barely managed to dodge a bullet that was aimed to take out her book, before having to dodge even more. Taking a quick turn, right as another rumble echoed through the area, the Tome wasn't surprised to find Commodore standing over the unconscious forms of several people, her red eyes bursting with anger. Right behind her, however, was Two, who was clutching her shoulder, a bit of red staining the white clothes underneath.

"Commodore!" Rosa yelled, before a yelp left her as she had to dodge yet another bullet.

The blue haired woman's eyes snapped towards the town, the fury disappearing long enough to display genuine worry, before snapping back to rage when she spotted the people right behind Rosa. Growling, even as she twirled the cutlass in her left hand, her other hand raised, the crack of a discharged pistol rang round echoing. The sound of someone yelling in pain behind her rang out, but Rosa ignored that in favor of flying past Commodore, trusting the woman to handle the fighting.

Hovering over the Medic who was injured Rosa didn't wait for permission, before a green glow emanated from her hand. The Medic seemed to flinch at the touch, but didn't show any protest otherwise, even her expression was still the same neutral look as always "Are you alright Two?"

"Yes, thanks to Commodore." The Medic's neutral voice sounded out, though a slight lift to her mouth appeared as she continued "The two of us were checking on Noel, when these idiots attacked.

Two emphasized her point by jabbing her foot into the spleen of one of the unconscious men on the ground, a groan leaving him. Looking towards the others as well, Rosa shook her head "I'm not sure what it is that caused them to do this, but I found something with the ledgers that Commodore should take a look at when she's finished."

"Now would be a good time actually." Commodore's voice sounded out, causing the two to look towards her, her clothes covered in a small amount of blood, but otherwise she looked unharmed "Before you say anything, I knocked a few teeth out I didn't kill em."

A snort left Two, her voice filled with sarcasm "Like it'd actually matter considering they tried to kill the two of us in turn."

"True" A shrug left Commodore with that comment, before she focused her attention on the Tome "So, you said you found something I should take a look at with the ledgers?"

Rosa gave a nod towards Commodore, before she summoned the papers out of her inventory, causing both of the woman in front of her to stare wide eyed. After a few second of doing nothing, Two shook her head quickly, as if to clear her thoughts, her words following without any delay "You need to show us how to do that. It would make carrying things so much easier."

"Later, once were done with all of this of course." Commodore spoke, though there was a mischievous look in her eye that told Rosa that she already had several ideas as to what she was going to do.

The Tome just hopped that it wasn't going to cause trouble for anyone.

* * *

 _ **Melody of a lost world**_ **.**

* * *

She was pissed. Normally Commodore was an easy going sort, outside of the battlefield of course. She tried her best to help the people out here as best she could. The red eyed woman knew that there were several things that she could have done to make the living situation in the banished lands better, but she refused to do so mainly because that would mean trying to get help from people outside of their borders.

What made that worse, of course, was due to the fact that there was always something watching the border, making it hard for them to get any resources either. Metals and such weren't a problem, but that did little for food. Anyone who got close to the border ended up getting shot at, whatever it was at the border, people or otherwise, they were treated the same. One of their radio's had been recovered from one of their people once, but there had been no word from the person who had taken it.

What she had just found out, however, was crossing a line that left her blood boiling. Commodore wasn't sure who it was that was causing the discordance with her people, the many people she had done her best to try and keep safe, and fed. In fact, it didn't matter either. She was rightly pissed, and she would have gone on a warpath almost immediately, if she didn't have to worry about the fact that there was a crowd outside of her house, the fighting causing several people to wait outside in concern.

"The records by themselves show that this had been going on for at least 5 years now, but that does not include records that could have been taken from the building. There are several files that seem to be missing after all." Rosa finished saying after she had explained what was going on "For all intents and purposes, this is enough that it could spark a split in your people. That is ignoring the fact that there are obviously outside supplies coming in as well."

Two let out a heavy sigh alongside Commodore, the blue haired woman's head resting in her hands. The medic took this chance to speak "Whatever the situation, we need to make sure that the children are as far away from any fighting as possible."

There was a noncommittal hum, but a simple nod was enough to show that she agreed with that. The children were the next generation, and as such they were the most important thing to protect. That left several things to figure out, however, and that was what Commodore was thinking about. She just wasn't sure what to do at the moment.

"Rosa, let me ask you a question before I decide what i'm going to do." Commodore spoke after a few minutes of silence "If Grimm was awake right now, what would her response to this be do you think?"

The Tome held no hesitation with her response, as she gently set her hands upon her lap "She would give people an ultimatum to start with, one that was clearly cut in its response, while also outright saying that the children would not be involved. The situation will end up with fighting, there is no doubt about it, but having clear cut lines to show where everyone stands would at the very least help to determine where people's loyalties lie."

Giving a nod, Commodore forced herself up and out of her chair. Opening the door, she immediately pointed at one of the guards who was outside, both men had been stationed here after Rosa had been attacked. These men were ones that, while constantly fighting with each other, held a loyalty to Commodore that was unbreakable "Simmons, your to make sure that no one goes into this room. If anyone tries to get in, you are to shoot first and ask questions later. Unless I am with, no one is to enter."

"Of course ma'am!" Simmons spoke in response, a quick salute leaving him, even as the other man with them, gave a salute as well.

Giving a nod, Commodore turned her attention towards Rosa and Two "I suppose it's time to give the people a speech."

Both gave a nod in response, before they stood up and left the room, Commodore wasn't sure what was going to happen once she started her speech, but she knew that at the very least there was going to be a fair amount of people that wouldn't want to fight. There were too many civilians that just wanted to live their lives to have people fight.

Letting a sigh leave her, Commodore pushed the door open, immediately seeing a large group of people standing, the mutterings of the crowd stopping with her appearance. Looking over the crowd, she saw a few people that were looking at her with barely concealed hostility, but she was grateful to see that it was a minority. It would have been bad if the crowd tried to become a lynch mob after all.

"Alright everyone! I'm certain that a lot of you have been wondering what the hell all the commotion was, and I'm here to give it to you straight. I'm not good with pretty speeches, and I'm not here to sugar coat something." Commodore spoke bluntly, and right away she could see that a large portion of the crowd was taking her words seriously "For the last 20 minutes i've been trying to get things sorted out because i've just found out that several representatives on our small amounts of green land have been skimming supplies from us in the desert. On top of that, as soon as it was found out, the people who have done this, attempted to murder the Tome Rosa."

Right away there were several loud yells of outrage at this information. Commodore held up her hand to let people know she had more, and while there were several uncomfortable looks at this, they did "Added to this is the fact that while I was attempting to watch over the CPU that slayed the ancient dragon yesterday, they tried to do the same to me and two as well. As such, I am officially declaring war against these people, and having said officially that we are in a state of civil war."

Predictably, there were a lot of noises of panic from the crowd in response, but they were cut off as a gunshot rang through the area, causing several people to scream in response. Unfortunately for the would be assassin, the bullet bounced off of an invisible barrier that had been in front of Commodore. Giving a nod towards Rosa, Commodore turned her attention towards the one who fired, her anger rising again as she saw the same man who had tried to start a fight with Grimm yesterday.

"Listen to you." The man spat, the crowd moving away from him "You've given yourself over to that damned CPU!"

Commodore let a loud laugh leave her as she uncrossed her arm "And what of you? You'd have us fight four nations with our low population as it is? What your group is proposing is tantamount to suicide for our people as a whole!"

"And what your saying isn't?!" The man shouted back, before waving his arms around him "Look around you! These are the people you swore to protect Commodore! It doesn't look like you're protecting too many of them if you've resorted to keeping a CPU safe, the same people that made it so that were in this forsaken land in the first place!"

Commodore could feel her anger rising, words upon her lips, only for another voice, Rosa's, to speak up first "Yet you would propose war against those same CPU's, who have many more men and women, as well as weapons, and experience that many people here do not have. You would endanger the lives of the few who wish not to fight, as well as the children of this land for a sick attempt at revenge towards those that likely are not even here today."

The Tome's words were like a slap to the fact as far as Commodore was concerned. Yes, it wasn't aimed towards her, but she couldn't deny that she had thoughts like that before. She actually could have done such a thing if she had time. Still, she ignored that train of thought before it could lead down a dangerous trail, as she stood a little taller, appearing as the imposing leader she had been for the last 4 years.

Getting a lid on her anger for the time being, Commodore pointed at the man who she had been arguing with "You, and those in this town like you, are no longer welcome here. If you would endanger any innocent lives, then you would be treated the same as any monster that gets near our borders. I won't repeat myself Buck."

Her final words were enough that the vast majority of the town had turned their attention towards the man, as well as his comrades. The glares sent in their direction was enough for them to start to back up, a hint of fear in a few of their eyes. Buck himself was not among those numbers, though he was glaring at Commodore the whole time, even as he started to leave, his form not even flinching when things were started to be thrown at him.

Letting a sigh leave her commodore could finally feel her age starting to catch up to her as she forced herself to take the little bit of rest she had. That rest was short lived, however, as another man, this one dressed in metal armor, though it was covered by several pieces of tan cloth to keep the metal from heating over much, walked towards her. He held a shield upon his left arm, the metal scuffed from battle.

Commodore, standing tall once again, as she stared him down, and he did the same in turn, simply asked "Need something?"

"A simple request." The man stated without missing a beat, even as his free arm motioned behind him, towards the crowd that was still gathered "We wish to know what has become of the CPU who has saved us for the time being."

Giving the man an even stare, the older woman couldn't help but let out a rueful laugh, even as she shook her head "Alright, since you want to know so bad, i'll tell you. By saving more than a few of our men and women who protect us against the monsters again and again, the CPU known as Grimm, is currently in a Coma due to a lack of energy. Rosa, the Tome floating next to me, insists that she will be awake within the next few days, but until then, she will be vulnerable."

The man gave a soft smile, even as he spoke up once again "I do believe that she will wake up sooner if what little I know of shares is correct. Your little speech likely just gave her a few more faithful. Not in the adults, but in the children."

Commodore couldn't deny her mixed feelings on the fact that Grimm was gaining more followers of her people, but at the same time, it was a weight off her shoulders. She still wasn't completely sure what to think of the CPU, but she was withholding any thoughts for the time being.

"Well, the sooner she's up the better then. We've got a Civil war to plan for, and this whole situation isn't going to go pretty no matter what." Commodore spoke with an even tone of voice.

The Shielder gave a nod, before holding out a hand "Regardless of what happens, you have my shield. My name is Galahad. It's a pleasure to meet you."

* * *

 **Chirper event Detected!**

 **A chibi version of Galahad appears:** _ **Saved by a CPU…"**_

There were several things going through Galahad's mind as he sat in the infirmary, keeping a close eye out for his teammate as he was going through surgery at the moment. Despite the worry he felt, there was still a part of him that couldn't help but bring his thoughts back towards what had happened earlier that day. A CPU with hair a Gunmetal silver color sending an ancient dragon flying with nary a problem. It had left him with several questions, none of which he could answer at the moment, but even then, he hoped that they could be answered soon.

The sound of the door opening caused his attention to shift, even as he opened his arms at the first sight of purple "Big brother!"

A happy chuckle left him, even as his little sister basically jumped into his arms, he was thankful that he had set his Shield down for the time being or she likely would have been hurt by the metal. Propping her up on his knee, Galahad let a smile grace his features as he held his sister "And how are you doing Mash? You make sure to keep on the Matron's good side yes?"

When she gave a nod in response, he couldn't help but put a hand on her head and rub it a bit, much to the little girl's annoyance "Stop it! Oh! Big brother, um… was it true that your team was saved by the CPU?"

Pausing at that, Galahad quickly moved his sister to a chair next to him, even as he answered her question "Yes, it's true. Why do you ask?"

"W-well, a lot of the adults were saying that the CPU's were bad, but if that's true, why did she save you and your team?" Mash asked, the innocence in her eyes obvious as she asked her question.

That was the question wasn't it? Why did the CPU save them, if they were considered to be evil beings by a majority of Pyros? It was simple now that he was actually thinking about it. It was because of an old grudge that had happened long before any of them were even alive. It started with one's parents telling their children that CPU's were evil, and then the next generation doing the same, over and over. It Could very well have been true that the CPU's of the first generation were in fact bad, but that could have been different now. Regardless, he wasn't about to blindly trust this new one that happened to help this time.

Still, he owed his sister an answer, and as such he spoke "Perhaps it was true that the CPU's of the past were in fact evil, but that need not be true now. Do you think that she is evil?"

"No!" Mash practically yelled as she looked towards her brother with a determined look "She saved you, so she can't be bad!"

The smile he had been wearing before reappeared as he gave a firm nod "Then she is not evil. No one can tell you what to believe but yourself. If at any time you feel like she is evil, then believe so, but if you do not, then don't. Alright?"

With a firm nod, the little girl began to happily kick her feet out while sitting next to her brother. Heedless of this, Galahad couldn't help but sigh internally. Whether she realized it or not, her sister had started to feed the faith that a CPU needed by believing that this new one was not evil.

He sincerely hoped that she lived up to that hope.

* * *

 **So yeah, this chapter is a little short, and all, but I'm more than happy with it all things considered! And before you ask, yes the Galahad you have in this story looks like the one in FGO. it's the main reason I didn't describe him when I had the chance several times. Now, i'm betting several people are going to be asking this as well "Will I be using any more FGO characters in this" The answer is something I will hold onto for the time being, as you saw Mash and all. As for any others though, you will have to wait and see. In general I'm really happy with this chapter, and I hope you all are as well. Until next time.**


End file.
